Footwear article with tongue reinforcer

Abstract

A footwear article includes a tongue and a tongue reinforcer, which helps the tongue maintain a shape and position when the tongue is subjected to forces or adjustments, such as from other footwear-article elements or from a wearer. For example, the tongue reinforcer may help the tongue maintain a shape and position when a wearer is inserting his or her foot into the footwear article or when medial and/or lateral quarters press inward on the tongue.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A footwear article comprising:
 an upper coupled to a sole, the upper comprising a medial quarter, a lateral quarter, a heel region, and an ankle collar movable between a lowered state positioned closer to the sole and a raised state positioned farther from the sole; 
 a collar elevator positioned in at least the heel region and operable to move the ankle collar from the lowered state to the raised state; 
 a tongue having an outward-facing surface; 
 a medial-side connector attaching the outward-facing surface to the medial quarter, wherein the medial-side connector includes a medial-connector midpoint; 
 a lateral-side connector attaching the outward-facing surface to the lateral quarter, wherein the lateral-side connector includes lateral-connector midpoint spaced apart from the medial-connector midpoint by a first length; and 
 a tongue reinforcer coupled to the tongue and having a tongue-reinforcer medial edge and a tongue-reinforcer lateral edge that are spaced apart from one another by a second length, wherein the second length is equal to or greater than the first length. 
 
     
     
       2. The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the collar elevator stores potential energy by elastically deforming from a first configuration to a second configuration when an applied force moves the ankle collar from the raised state to the lowered state, and wherein the potential energy returns the collar elevator to the first configuration upon removal of the applied force. 
     
     
       3. The footwear article of  claim 2 , wherein the collar elevator includes a medial lever arm, a lateral lever arm, and a center connecting band that couples the medial lever arm to the lateral lever arm and that is located in a rear portion of the ankle collar. 
     
     
       4. The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the tongue includes a first material layer having a first stiffness; and wherein the tongue reinforcer includes a second material layer having a second stiffness equal to or greater than the first stiffness. 
     
     
       5. The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the tongue includes a first material layer having the outward-facing surface and having an inward-facing surface, and wherein the inward-facing surface is between the tongue reinforcer and the outward-facing surface. 
     
     
       6. The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the tongue includes a first material layer having the outward-facing surface and having an inward-facing surface, and wherein the outward-facing surface is between the tongue reinforcer and the inward-facing surface. 
     
     
       7. The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the medial-side connector includes a first part of a first hook-and-loop connector, wherein a second part of the first hook-and-loop connector is attached to the medial quarter, wherein the lateral-side connector includes a first part of a second hook-and-loop connector, and wherein a second part of the second hook-and-loop connector is attached to the lateral quarter. 
     
     
       8. The footwear article of  claim 1 , wherein the tongue includes a tongue reference point that interests a latitudinal midline reference plane of the footwear article, and wherein a portion of the tongue reinforcer having the second length is positioned between the tongue reference point and a topline edge of the tongue. 
     
     
       9. A footwear article comprising:
 an upper coupled to a sole, the upper comprising a medial quarter, a lateral quarter, a heel region, and an ankle collar movable between a lowered state positioned closer to the sole and a raised state positioned farther from the sole; 
 a collar elevator positioned in at least the heel region and operable to move the ankle collar from the lowered state to the raised state; 
 a tongue having a topline edge, an outward-facing surface, and a tongue reference point intersecting a latitudinal midline reference plane of the footwear article; 
 a medial-side connector attaching the outward-facing surface to the medial quarter; 
 a lateral-side connector spaced a first distance apart from the medial-side connector and attaching the outward-facing surface to the lateral quarter; and 
 a tongue reinforcer coupled to the tongue and having at least a portion with a tongue-reinforcer medial edge, a tongue-reinforcer lateral edge, and a tongue-reinforcer width from the tongue-reinforcer medial edge to the a tongue-reinforcer lateral edge, wherein tongue-reinforcer width is larger than the first distance and wherein the at least the portion is positioned between the tongue reference point and the topline edge. 
 
     
     
       10. The footwear article of  claim 9 , wherein a second distance between the tongue reference point and the at least the portion is equal to or larger than half of a third distance extending from the tongue reference point to the topline edge. 
     
     
       11. The footwear article of  claim 9 , wherein the collar elevator stores potential energy by elastically deforming from a first configuration to a second configuration when an applied force moves the ankle collar from the raised state to the lowered state, and wherein the potential energy returns the collar elevator to the first configuration upon removal of the applied force. 
     
     
       12. The footwear article of  claim 11 , wherein the collar elevator includes a medial lever arm, a lateral lever arm, and a center connecting band that couples the medial lever arm to the lateral lever arm and that is located in a rear portion of the ankle collar. 
     
     
       13. The footwear article of  claim 9 , wherein the medial-side connector includes a first part of a first hook-and-loop connector, wherein a second part of the first hook-and-loop connector is attached to the medial quarter, wherein the lateral-side connector includes a first part of a second hook-and-loop connector, and wherein a second part of the second hook-and-loop connector is attached to the lateral quarter. 
     
     
       14. The footwear article of  claim 9 , wherein the tongue includes a first material layer having the outward-facing surface and having an inward-facing surface, and wherein the inward-facing surface is between the tongue reinforcer and the outward-facing surface. 
     
     
       15. The footwear article of  claim 9 , wherein the tongue includes a first material layer having the outward-facing surface and having an inward-facing surface, and wherein the outward-facing surface is between the tongue reinforcer and the inward-facing surface. 
     
     
       16. A footwear article comprising:
 an upper coupled to a sole, the upper comprising a medial quarter, a lateral quarter, a heel region, and an ankle collar movable between a lowered state positioned closer to the sole and a raised state positioned farther from the sole; 
 a collar elevator positioned in at least the heel region and operable to move the ankle collar from the lowered state to the raised state; 
 a tongue having a topline edge, an outward-facing surface, and a tongue reference point intersecting a latitudinal midline reference plane of the footwear article; 
 a medial-side connector attaching the outward-facing surface to the medial quarter; 
 a lateral-side connector attaching the outward-facing surface to the lateral quarter; and 
 a tongue reinforcer coupled to the tongue and having a tongue-reinforcer width extending from a tongue-reinforcer medial edge to a tongue-reinforcer lateral edge and having a tongue-reinforcer length extending from a tongue-reinforcer top edge to a tongue-reinforcer bottom edge, wherein the tongue-reinforcer width is larger than the tongue-reinforcer length, and wherein the tongue-reinforcer top edge is between the tongue reference point and the topline edge. 
 
     
     
       17. The footwear article of  claim 16 , wherein the tongue-reinforcer bottom edge is positioned between the tongue reference point and the topline edge. 
     
     
       18. The footwear article of  claim 16 , wherein the tongue-reinforcer width is larger than a distance that spaces the medial-side connector from the lateral-side connector. 
     
     
       19. The footwear article of  claim 18 , wherein the tongue-reinforcer top edge comprises the tongue-reinforcer width. 
     
     
       20. The footwear article of  claim 19 , wherein the tongue-reinforcer bottom edge comprises the tongue-reinforce width.